Culture of Commitment

National Bank of Arizona is more than a great place to work. It’s also an ideal place to learn new skills and advance your career. With more than 2,000 learning options for personal and professional development, tuition reimbursement, education sponsorship opportunities and formal mentoring programs, employees have plenty of choices when pursuing additional training and knowledge.

“We believe an exceptional company can only be built by exceptional people working together as a great team,” says Joy Antolini, chief learning officer and head of the Enterprise Learning & Development division at Zions Bancorporation, the parent company of National Bank of Arizona. “At the core of our development philosophy is the idea that each employee has the responsibility of owning their development, with the committed support of their leader.”

Here is just a sampling of what NB|AZ offers its employees:

• Banker Development Program – “This program develops newly graduated finance students into well-rounded lenders and credit professionals,” Antolini says. The 18-month program provides relevant experience and exposure to learn and practice lending and credit skills in a working environment. It serves as a pathway to a career in business banking, commercial lending, portfolio management, real estate lending and retail management.
• Champions Program – This program grows the capabilities of business bankers and branch managers “through a series of learning paths with increasing scope and complexity,” Antolini says. After successful completion of each level, the banker is recognized and considered for additional authority.
• “Becoming Champions” is a program enhancement that educates other employees who aspire to grow into a branch manager role. By completing the Becoming Champions curriculum, employees can best prepare themselves for readiness in the Champions Program.
• Foundations of Management – This provides the fundamentals of working in teams, motivating others and solving problems when you join the organization as a newly hired or promoted supervisors and managers. It’s all about understanding the competencies and attributes of a well-rounded manager to be ready for the challenges of leading teams.
• RISE – This program, whose acronym stands for Reflect, Investigate, Skill-up, Engage, allows mid-level employees and their managers to participate in a coaching session with a talent development consultant to reflect on their strengths, investigate career options, identify where they need to add skills, find relevant resources and engage in a customized development plan.
• Zions Mentoring Program – Zions Bancorporation is committed to creating a culture of mentoring that promotes career development, recognition, networking, collaboration and partnering with each other. This annual formal mentoring program helps employees grow through education and experience in line with their individual development goals.

“We know that our employees want to feel challenged, valued and engaged,” Antolini says. “Investing in career development through meaningful learning activities is a key component to making that happen.”

NB|AZ and all of Zions Bancorporation is an amazing place to build a career, she emphasized. “We make significant investments in growing our teams internally and offer countless career path options to suit changing employee aspirations.”